Low friction sealed and low torque actuated
trunnion mounted valve



Dec. 8, 1970 BROWN Re. 26,998

LOW FRICTION SEALED AND LOW TORQUE ACTUATED TRUNNION MOUNTED VALVEOriginal Filed Oct. 22, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR NORMAN F BROWNATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1970 N. F. BROWN LOW FRICTION SEALED AND LOW TORQUEACTUATED TRUNNION MOUNTED VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet I Original Filed Oct. 22,1964 INVENT OR NORMAN F BROWN ATTORNEYS United States Patent Oflice Re.26,998 Reissuecl Dec. 8, 1970 26,998 LOW FRICTION SEALED AND LOW TORQUEACIUATED TRUNNION MOUNTED VALVE Norman F. Brown, Fauldhouse WestLothian, Scotland,

assignor to Otis Engineering Corporation, Dallas, Team,

a corporation of Delaware Original No. 3,384,337, dated May 21, 1968,Ser. No.

405,744, Oct. 22, 1964. Application for reissue Jan. 27,

1969, Ser. No. 807,466

Int. Cl. F16k /14 US. Cl. 251-172 11 Claims Matter enclosed in heavybrackets appears in the original patent hut forms no part of thisreissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additionsmade by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plug valve having seat means provided withlimited minimum interface engagement of seat means with valve plugmeans, and low friction sealed trunnion mounts as suring low torqueactuation under high pressure COIldltions and long service intervals.

This invention relates to flow control devices for controlling the flowof fluid through a conduit. More specifieally this invention relates toplug type valves.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved valve.It is another object of this invention to provide a plug type valve.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a plug valve whereinthe valve element is spherical in shape and supported within the flowpassage of the valve on trunnions.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a ball-type plugvalve having a trunnion supported valve element and at least one movableseat member which may be retracted from the ball surface a sutlicientdistance to permit removal of the valve element from the body of thevalve.

It is another object of this invention to provide a plug type valvehaving a valve element and pressure balanced seat members provided witha minimum seat area to permit operation of the valve under conditions oflow friction so that the valve may be readily actuated with low energyexpenditure at high pressures or pressure differentials.

It is another object of this invention to provide a plug type valve inwhich the valve element is trunnion supported and the trunnions aresupported by low friction type roller bearings.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a plug typevalve having roller bearing supported trunnion members on the valveelements wherein the roller bearings function within an oil filledenvironment under pressure conditions existing within the principal flowpassage of the valve.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a balltype plug valvein which the various seals, bearings, and lubricating assemblies are soconstructed that the valve is readily operable under substantialexternal liquid pressure conditions, such as when installed on the oceanfloor.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved form ofplug type valve which may be operated maintenance free, or substantiallyso, in inaccessible areas such as on the ocean bed for extended periodsof time.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a ball-type plugvalve supported on roller bearing mounted trunnions having means formaintaining lubricant around the bearings under such conditions thatthere will be no pressure differential existing across the lubricatedbearing space and displacement of the lubricant by water thus will beprevented should the valve be utilized for water conducting service.

These and still further objects of the invention will be apparent from areading of the following description of the invention in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of a ball-type plug valve constructed inaccordance with the invention, in FIGURE 1 the valve is illustrated inclosed position;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view, partially in section and partially inelevation along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, illustrating a principaladvantage of the invention whereby a valve seat may be retained inretracted position to permit installation and withdrawal of theball-type valve element;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view, in section, of one of the seal assembliesemployed around each of the trunnions supporting the ball-type valveelement;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view in elevation of one of the principal sealsutilized in the seal assembly illustrated in FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a partial view in elevation of the outward end of one of thebearings and its housing.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIGURE 1, the valve of theinvention generally comprises a valve body 6 in which is positioned aball-type valve element 7 having two trunnions 7a and 7b supported inthe bearings 8 and 8a. The valve seats 9 and 9a cooperate with the valveelement to control flow through the valve. At least one of the valveseats is movable and biased toward the valve element to permit readyremoval of the valve element.

The valve body is provided with a flow passage 11 which extends throughthe valve body to conduct fluids through the valve. For referencepurposes the flow passage will be divided into an upper portion 11a anda lower portion 11b. Also, extending through the body is a bore 12 whichintersects the flow passage at an angle which will permit the valveelement 7 to be introduced into and moved from the valve body. The bore12 includes a left bore 12a and a right bore 1%. As illustrated inFIGURE 1, the bore 12a is of reduced diameter at 13 forming an internalannular shoulder 14 while the bore 12b is of uniform diameter andinternally threaded at 15. The functions of both the shoulders 14 andthe threads 15 will be explained hereinafter. The inward ends of thebores 12a and 12!) are provided with internal annular grooves 20 and20a, respectively, to hold a retaining ring locking the bearing housingin place, as will be later explained.

Referring back to the flow passage 11 in FIGURE 1, the body 6 adjacentthe outward ends of the flow passage is provided with the internalannular grooves 21 and 21a. inwardly from the groove 21 the flow passage11a is enlarged at 22 providing an inwardly facing shoulder 23. The flowpassage 11b is similarly provided with the enlarged portion 22a forminga shoulder 23a. Extending through the body 6 into the passage 11 andtransverse thereto are the internally threaded bores 24- and 24a inwhich are engaged the set screws 25 and 25a and the plugs 30 and 30a.

Rotatably positioned within the valve body is the ballshaped valveelement 7 through which extends a bore or port 32 adapted to cooperatewith the flow passage 11 to control flow through the valve. The valveelement is supported on the trunnions 7a and 7b which are reduced indiameter at 34 and 34a. The outward ends of the trunnions are providedwith the tool engageable portions 35 and 35a.

Positioned within the flow passage 11 are the valve seats 9 and 9a, bothof which are moveable and retractable to permit withdrawal of the valveelement 7 from the valve body through the right bore. The valve seat 9is provided with annular arcuate surface 41 having an annular seat 42provided by an annular flange contoured to cooperate with the outersurface of the valve element so that a substantially fluid tightrelationship may be maintained between the valve seat and the valveelement as the valve element is rotated and while the valve element isin either closed or open position. The valve seat is biased toward thevalve element by a coil spring 43 positioned between the shoulder 23within the flow passage 11a and a shoulder 44 formed on the valve seatby the flange 45. An external seal is provided around the valve seatwithin the internal surface of the valve body within the flow passage bya suitable seal ring 50 engaged with the backup ring 51, both the rings50 and 51 being disposed within the annular groove 21 in the valve body.In the lower flow passage 11b an identical valve seat 9a is positioned.The elements and function of the lower valve seat are identical to theupper valve seat and are referred to by the same reference numerals withthe subscripts a added. The valve seats and their associated elementsare so sized and positioned that the valve seats are movable membersbiased toward the valve element and may be withdrawn a sufficientdistance to permit removal of the valve element and its trunnionsupports from the valve body through bore 12b.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the lower valve seat 9a in retracted position sothat sufiicient clearance will be provided for removal of the valveelement with the valve ele ment in open position with respect to theflow passage. The valve seat is retracted against the force of thespring 43a and the set screw a is rotated into engagement with the valveseat as shown in FIGURE 2, thus retaining the valve seat in itsretracted position. The upper valve seat is similarly holdable in upperretracted position by a screw 25. The valve seats are retained inretracted position until the valve element is repositioned within thevalve body. At this time, the set screws 25 and 25a are either withdrawnor retracted a sufficient distance to free the valve seats allowing themto move back into engagement with the external surface of the ball valveelement. The bores 24 and 24a are sealed by the plugs and 30a leavingthe set screws 25 and 25a in place, if space and construction of theplug and set screws permit outward movement of the set screws topositions wherein they do not engage the valve seats, or removing theset screws if desired.

A particularly important feature of the invention is the low powerrequired to turn the valve. The small force exerted between the valveseats 9 and 9a and the valve element permits free turning of the valveeven under conditions of high closed-valve pressure differential acrossthe valve elements. The diameter of the center line of the seat surfaces42 and 42a of each valve seat is only a little less than the outsidediameter of the valve seat at the seal rings 50 and 50a. Thus, the areaof the back surfaces of the valve seat subject to the pressure withinthe flow passage is greater than the area of the seat surfaces towardthe valve element exposed to such pressure with the net result that thepressure within the flow passage will urge each valve seat toward thevalve element. It is preferred that the annular area between the meandiameter of the valve seat 42 and the internal diameter of the seal 50exceed the area of the seat 42 itself by an amount ranging from aboutone percent to about ten percent. A still more preferred ratio for thisrelationship is that the annular area exceed the seat area by about fivepercent. In addition to the force caused by the pressure within the flowpassage urging the valve seats toward the valve element, the spring uniton each valve seat also biases the valve seat toward the valve element.Since the difference in areas against which the pressure in the flowchannel is effective on the valve seats is slightly greater than thearea of the seat surfaces 42 and 42a, the interface unit pressurebetween these seat surfaces and the valve elements will always beslightly greater than the closed valve pressure differential. This seatsurface area is small and therefore the friction between the seats andthe valve element is small. When the valve is in open position therewill be substantially no pressure differential across the valve elementand the valve seats will be lightly biased toward the valve element bythe force of the springs. Since the force is small the movement of thevalve element would obviously require a small force. When the valveelement is in closed position, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the uppervalve seat is biased toward the valve element by the force of the springand the pressure in the flow passage acting against the area differencetending to urge the valve seat toward the valve element. At particularlyhigh pressure levels the valve element itself will be urged downwardlytoward the lower valve seat, which is also depressed due to its movablemounting. Since the lower valve seat may so deflect with the valveelement, increases in friction between them are negligible even withincreases in pressure in the valve in closed position. Thus, the valvemay be readily rotated from a closed position with application of a lowtorque.

The trunnions 7 and 7a are supported within the valve body on thebearing units 8 and 8a in a manner which substantially reduces thetorque necessary to actuate the valve. A further particularly desirablefeature of the trunnion support system is the manner of lubrication ofthe bearings which provides a substantially permanent, trouble freeunit. The roller bearing unit 8 comprises an inner race 60 fitted aroundthe trunnion 7a, a plurality of rollers 61, and an outer race 62. Theroller bearing unit 8, including the inner race 60, the roller 61, andthe outer race 62, is positioned within a bearing housing 63. The innerrace 60 forms a snug fit with the trunnion and rotates therewith. A seal64 is positioned around the trunnion within an annular groove 65 formedwithin the housing 63. This seal is capable of sustaining a moderatedifferential pressure outwardly but will allow leakage inwardly at quitea low differential pressure.

The bearing housing is prevented from moving inwardly by a retainingring 69 disposed in the annular groove 20 of the body 6. There isessentially a press fit between the external surface of the bearinghousing and the bore so that no fluid leakage will occur along thecontact area.

Formed within the housing 63 are a plurality of longitudinally orientedfilter chambers or passages 70 radially positioned around the entercircumference of the housing. At the inward ends of each of the passages70 is a portion of reduced diameter 71 opening through such end of thebearing housing. Each of the outward ends of the passages are threadedto receive a set screw 72 through which extends a small aperture 73.Each of the passageways 70 is filled with a fine, capillaried matrixsuch as a common felt. The valve body is provided with an externalannular groove 74 which assists in distribution of a lubricant to thehearing, as will be hereinafter explained. The bearing housing and othermembers associated with the hearing are constructed with toleranceswhich, when the valve is assembled, cumulatively provide a clearance atthe outward end of the bearing to facilitate distribution of lubricantto the bearing. Extending through the valve body 6 in communiaction withthe groove 74 is a small aperture 76 which connects with an internallythreaded passage 70 engageable with which is a plug element 81.Lubricant is injected into the bearing through the aperture 76 fromwhich it flows into the groove 74 and into the clearance at the outwardend of the bearing. The lubricant distributes itself through the grooveand around the end of the bearing housing until it flows through theopenings 73 in the screws 72 inwardly through the felt disposed withinthe passages 70 and further inwardly through the passages 71 into theinner portion of the valve body around the valve seats. Lubricant alsoflows to the rollers from the outward end of the bearing. Uponcompletion of injection of the lubricant the plug 81 is installed in theopening 80 to seal the lubricant in the valve. The lubricant becomestrapped in and around the bearing and will remain there since a pressuredilferential will not exist across the bearing area under normaloperating conditions. For example, when a high pressure exists withinthe fluid flow passage 11, the pressure will be imposed upon allelements of the bearing by virtue of acting through the felt in thepassages 70 and from there through the apertures 73 and the set screws72. The nature of the lubricant system for the bearing taken inconjunction with the other trunnion seal assemblies 82 and 82a whichwill be described hereinafter in such that even when the valve is filledwith water at high pressure the lubricant will not be displaced from thebearing by the water. If the valve is full of water there will be aninterface at the locations where the water meets the oil. The feltmaterial within the passages 70 functions to confine the water-oilinterface within its capillaries to prevent an interchange between thewater and oil. Due to the efiicient seal effected by the outer sealassemblies, virtually no fiow can occur through the felt within thepassages and thus the oil-water interface is retained within thecapillaries of the felt and the lubricant cannot be displaced. It isestimated that under such conditions a body of lubricant will remain inplace within the bearing of the valve of the invention for a substantialperiod of time.

On the right hand side of the valve a bearing 8a supports the trunnion7b. The right hand bearing and lubricant assembly are identical instructure and function to the left hand bearing and are denoted in thedrawings by the same reference numerals with the subscript a added.

Outwardly from the bearing assemblies on the trunnions are the lowfriction seal assemblies 82 and 82a which are disposed about thetrunnion portions 34 and 34a, respectively. The seal assemblies employedare a low friction type wherein increases in the pressure differentialacross the seal tend to urge the sealing element into more intimatecontact with and thus more effectively seal between the trunnionportions and the body. The particular seal assembly employed here isdisclosed and claimed in my co-pending United States Letters Patentapplication, Ser. No. 404,301 filed Oct. 16, 1964.

Referring to FIGURE 3, where the seal assembly 32a is shown in greaterdetail, it may be seen that the assembly is locked within the sealhousing 90 by a lock ring 91 whose outer portions are received in aninternal annular recess of the body. A thrust washer 92 is positioned inengagement with the shoulder fromed on the end of the enlarged portion7b of the trunnion. The thrust washer 92 is preferably formed of a lowfriction material such as is sold under the trademark Teflon? Disposedaround the trunnion 34a is an annular spring cage 93 in contact with thelock ring 91 and the thrust washer 92. Positioned within the spring cageare a plurality of the springs 94, which may be coil springs, to exert aforce in an outward direction against a ring 95 constructed of asubstantially non-resilient material such as stainless steel. Disposedin direct contact with the trunnion portion 34a is a ring 100 which, asillustrated in FIGURE 4, is scarf cut at 101 to permit the ring to moreclosely fit around the trunnion portion with increased pressure on theouter periphery of the ring. Also, positioned around the trunnionportion and adjacent to the ring 100 is a ring 102 formed of Teflonwhich contacts the ring 100, as shown. Disposed about and in contactwith the rings 100 and 102 is a deformable ring 103 which is asemi-fluid material such as soft rubber molded in a ring having thecross-sectional configuration illustrated. Also, positioned as shown arethe rings 104 and 105 which function to transmit pressure from the ringto effect a deformation of the ring 103 which reacts in the nature of afluid transmitting pressure in all directions. Since the ring 103 isconfined by the rings 95, 104 and and the seal housing 90, the pressureis transmitted inwardly to the rings 100 and 102 forcing them intointimate contact with the external surface of the trunnion to preventleakage of fluids along the surface of the trunnion. Increases in thedifferential pressure across the seal assembly improve the contactbetween the trunnion and the rings 102 and 100. Ring 100 is not requiredto seal but it is primarily employed to prevent extrusion of the ring102. Due to the nature of the material of which the rings areconstructed, the trunnion rotates freely within them even with asubstantial pressure diflerential across the seal assembly.

The seal assembly 82 on the left side of the valve around the trunnion34 is identical in parts and function to the right hand seal assembly82a, above described.

The seal housings 90 and 90a are positioned within the bore 12 outwardlyof and in contact with each of the bearing assemblies on opposite sidesof the valve element 7. The left seal housing 90 is positioned incontact with the internal shoulder 14 to retain the seal housing withinthe valve body 6. The right hand seal housing 90a is retained in thevalve body by an externally threaded nut 106 engaged with the threads15. Each of the seal housings is provided with an external static sealand an internal dynamic seal to establish sealed relationships betweenthe valve body 6 and the trunnion portion 34, respectively.Specifically, the external surface of the seal housing 90 is providedwith an annular groove 110 in which is positioned a seal ring 111 toeffect a seal between the outside of the seal housing and the internalsurface of the bore 12a. The internal surface of the seal housing at itsoutward end is provided with an internal annular groove 112 in which isfitted a ring seal 113 functioning to effect a seal between the trunnionand the seal housing to prevent having the same reference numeraldenoted by the subscript a.

The lug 115 formed on the left side of the valve body is provided forengagement with an actuator mechanism such as that disclosed in the US.Patent No. 3,122,351 issued Feb. 25, 1964. Tangential grooves 116 and117 formed on the right side of the valve body permit engagement of suchan actuator mechanism or other actuator for operating the valve, eachhaving a latch mechanism to engage the grooves 116 and 117 when themechanism is pushed into place even by a diver under water.

Assembly of the valve of the invention is carried out in the followingmanner. The seal assembly 82 and the seals 111 and 113 are installed inthe left hand seal housing 90. The various members of the seal assembly82, as illustrated in FIGURE 3. including the spring cage 93 and thesprings 94 are positioned within the seal housing and retained thereinby the locking ring 91. The seal ring 111 is placed in the groove 110while the seal ring 113 is placed within the internal groove 112. Withthe seals properly positioned within the seal housing the seal housingis inserted through the bore 12b into the bore 12a into contact withinternal shoulder 14 as illustrated in FIGURE 1. The bearing assembly 8including the inner race 60, the rollers 61, the outer race 62 and thebearing housing are placed together with the ring seal 64 beingpositioned within the internal groove 65 and the set screws 72 beingengaged after each of the lubricant chambers 70 has been filled with thefelt matrix material. Lubricant such as grease is packed in around therollers between the races. The left hand bearing assembly is introducedinto the valve body through the right hand bore 12b and positioned inthe left hand bore 12a with the end of the bearing assembly containingthe set screws 72 being placed in contact with the inward end of theseal housing 90. The left hand bearing assembly is then locked in placeby installation of the locking ring 69 in the groove 20. The ring seal50 and the backup ring 51 are placed in the groove 21 of the flowchannel 11a. The ring seal 50a and the backup ring 51a are then placedin the groove 21a of the lower flow passage 11b. The springs 43 and 43aalong with the valve seats 9 and 9a are introduced into the valve bodythrough the bore 12b into position within the upper and lower flowpassages 11a and 11b. The springs may conveniently be placed around thevalve seats prior to installation of each of the valve seats. When eachof the valve seats is properly positioned it is depressed as illustratedin FIGURE 2 and a set screw, such as the set screw 25, is threadedlyengaged through the valve body into contact with the inward end of thevalve seat to retain the valve seat in a depressed or retractedposition, as illustrated. The next part installed is the valve element 7with the trunnions 7a and 7b. The thrust washer 92 is placed on theportion 34 of the trunnion 7a and the valve element and trunnionassembly is then introduced through the bore 12b into the valve bodyuntil the trunnion 7a is positioned within the bore 12a with the thrustwasher in contact with the spring cage 93 of seal assembly 82. Theintroduction of the valve element and the trunnions is accomplished withthe valve element being oriented such that the bore 32 through the valveelement is in alignment with the flow passage 11 as shown in FIGURE 2.With the valve element and the trunnions so positioned the trunnion 7awill, of course, be within the bearing assembly 8. The set screws 25 and25a are backed out a suflicient distance to release both of the valveseats freeing the seats so that the springs 43 and 43a may move theminto engagement with the valve element. The plugs 30 and 30a are nowinstalled in the bores 24 and 24a, respectively, to make the valve bodyfluid tight. The set screws 25 and 25a may be removed or left in placebut backed away from the valve seat. The right hand lock ring 69a is nowinstalled in the groove 20a in the right hand bore of the valve body.The right hand bearing assembly 8a having been assembled in the samemanner as the left hand bearing assembly 8 is installed in the bore 12baround the trunnion 7b. The seal element 90a with the seal assembly 81aand the ring seals 111a and 113a in place is introduced into the righthand bore around the trunnion portion 34a with a thrust washer 92 havingbeen placed around the trunnion against the outward end of the trunnionportion 7b. The nut 114 is now engaged with the threads 15 to securelyretain the right hand bearing assembly and seal housing in place.

With the valve completely assembled as previously described lubricationof the bearings is completed prior to installation of the valve in thesystem in which it is to be used. While some lubricant has been packedinto the roller bearing before assembly, further lubricant, such as ahydrocarbon oil, is forced into the valve body through the bores 80 and80a until the lubricant has been forced throughout each of the bearingassemblies with the last of the air bubbles and some of the lubricantflowing through the apertures 71 and 71a into the internal portions ofthe valve body and preferably the space within the flow passage 11around the valve seats is filled with lubricant. The plugs 81 and 81aare installed to seal the lubricant in place.

The valve may be readily disassembled in the event service is required.The nut 114 on the right hand side of the valve is removed followed bythe seal housing and bearing assembly with their associated parts beingwithdrawn from the valve body in the reverse order in which assembly wasaccomplished. When the right hand bearing assmebly and the lock ring 69aare removed from the bore 12b, :1 suitable tool is inserted through thebore 12b into contact with the flanges 45 and 45a of each of 8 the valveseats 9 and 9a depressing the seats until the set screws, 25 and 25a,are rotated into engagement with the flanges to retain the valve seatsin retracted position. The valve element is rotated into the positionillustrated in FIGURE 2 so that the flat faces resulting from the openends of the bore 32 will clear the flanges of the valve seats as thevalve element is withdrawn. By having the valve element in the positionshown it is possible to minimize the distance that the valve seats mustbe retracted in order to permit withdrawal of the valve element. Afterthe valve element and the trunnions have been removed through the bore12b, the remaining parts may be taken from the valve body in the reverseorder of assembly. If only the valve element and trunnions are to beremoved, the valve seats are retained in retracted position by the setscrews until reassembly of the valve.

With the valve of the invention assembled and lubricated as abovedescribed, the valve is installed in the conduit of the flow system inwhich it is to be used. Assume for purposes of this discussion that theupper portion of the flow passage 11a is the inlet of the valve and thelower portion or the flow passage 11b is the outlet of the valve. Theends of the conduit in which the valve is installed are threadedlyengaged into the opposite ends of the flow passage 11 with fluid flow inthe conduit going into the flow passage 11a and thus exerting a pressureon the upper portion of the valve element as represented in FIGURE 1.Since the area difference between the mean diameter of the valve seat 42and the internal diameter of the seal 50 constitutes an annular areaacted upon by the upstream pressure to thrust the upper valve seatagainst the valve element, and since this annular area slightly exceedsthat of the annular seat 42 itself, the interface unit pressure betweenthe valve element and the seat will always slightly exceed thedifferential pressure shut off by the valve by a margin which isproportional to that differential pressure plus a constant derived fromthe spring thrust.

If the flow direction and the differential are reversed, the same istrue for the other, or which ever seat is upstream.

The downstream seat member carries no load and is pressed against thevalve member by the spring only. To obtain the lowest practicablerequirements of torque used to operate the valve of this invention,thereby rendering it operable by remote controlled actuators verymodestly powered, the spring 43 is provided with a thrust only slightlygreater than that required to overcome friction at seal ring 50 and theseat biasing annular area difference is a minor excess over the valveseat area as previously discussed. The valve is readily rotated betweenopen and closed position by engagement of any desired form of tool withthe outward ends 35 or 35a of the trunnions. It may readily be seen thateven when operating under such high pressures as 10,000 p.s.i. the valveis very well balanced due to the presence of the identical trunnionportions and supporting bearings on the opposite sides of the valveelement. Even with high operating pressures the lubricant sealed withinthe bearing areas is not displaced from the bearings due to the balancedpressure conditions on opposite ends of the bearings because of thepresence of the lubricant chambers which have minimized a tendencytoward a pressure ditierential across the bearings. The seals 111 and111a around the external surfaces of the seal housing and 90a are notrequired to be complex seals since the parts between which such sealsare installed do not move relative to each other. On the other hand, theseals 82 and 82a are required to maintain a seal between movable partsand are subjected to the pressure within the valve. Where the valve isused in underwater service the seals 113 and 113a effectively excludesea water and the like from invading the valve along the trunnion. Theseals 113 and 113a, are a form of hollow O-ring with a cavity opening inthe direction against which sealing action is desired thus providing aseal which is effective principally in one direction.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a plug-type valve whichincludes bearing supported trunnions operatively associated with a valveelement which functions between seats in the main flow passage of thevalve, such seats being retractable to permit the valve element to bereadily removed from the body of the valve. The unique and novelconstruction of the valve provides a valve which may be operated with aminimum of power requirements and is particularly suited forinstallation in a remote location such as an ocean bottom wheretrouble-free service is an essential requirement. The construction ofthe valve seats and the means for biasing such seats toward the valveelement along with the bearing mounted trunnions minimize frictionduring operation of the valve.

A specific example of the effectiveness of a valve constructed inaccordance with the invention is one having a flow passage with adiameter of two inches and a rated working pressure of 10,000 psi. Suchvalve when operating under a working pressure of 2,000 psi. within thevalve and on both sides of the valve element was found to be rotatablewith a torque of less than ten foot pounds. This particular valve wasclosed with a pressure differential across the valve element of 10,000psi and it was found that the valve element was rotatable from a closedto an open position with an initial torque of less than one hundred footpounds and with the torque diminishing progressively as the valve wasturned toward open position. Such valve was also operated 20,000 timeswith no appreciable deterioration of the sealing or change in the torquerequirements.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that various otherembodiments of the valve may be constructed within the limits of theinvention. While only one inlet and the one outlet have been illustratedfor the valve, additional fluid flow passages intersecting the flowpassage 11 may be formed in the valve body. For example, a flow passagerunning transverse to the flow passage 11 and having retractable valveseats installed therein would provide a four-way valve in which thevalve element may readily be removed from the valve body by retractionof the valve seats. If the valve is not to be used in high pressureinstallations a cantilever supported valve element with only onetrunnion may be employed. Numerous forms of connection between the valveelement and trunnions may be used within the spirit of the invention.The trunnions may be formed integral with the valve element asillustrated or they may be separate pieces threadedly engaged to thevalve element or on the other hand they may be operatively associatedwith the valve element but not actually secured thereto. Under certainpressure conditions it may be practical to employ a retainer nut such asthe nut 114 in both the left and the right sides of the valve ratherthan using the internal shoulder 14 in the left side of the valve asillustrated. The dimensions of the valve may be varied to permit use ofonly one retractable valve seat which would allow withdrawal of thevalve element from the valve body.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, andchanges in the details of the construction illustrated may be made bythose skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A ball-type plug valve which comprises: a valve body having a flowpassage extending therethrough and a bore extending into said valve bodyintersecting said flow passage; a ball-type valve element rotatablypositioned Within said flow passage and having a port cooperating withsaid flow passage for controlling fluid flow through said valve; atrunnion on said valve element positioned within said bore forsupporting said valve element within said flow passage; seat meanspositioned within said flow passage to function in cooperation with saidvalve element for controlling flow through said flow passage, said seatmeans being movable away from said valve element; means for biasing saidseat means toward said valve element and enabling said seat means to beretracted from said valve element to enable said valve element to beremoved from and inserted into said valve body through said bore; rollerbearing means positioned within said bore in engagement with saidtrunnion for supporting said trunnion and enabling rotation thereof;lubricant chamber means positioned around said bearing, said lubricantchamber means including communication channels at one end of said meansexposing said means to the pressure within said flow passage and at theother end of said means opening into the outward end of said bearing;pressure seal means on said trunnion outwardly of said bearing and saidlubricant chamber means; a plurality of cylindrical chamberscircumferentially distributed around said bearing and oriented with thelongitudinal axis of each of said chambers being in substantially thesame direction as said trunnion; each of said chambers containingcapillaried matrix material to minimize the movement therethrough of anoil-water interface; each of said chambers having an opening at one endsubjecting said chambers to the pressure within said flow passage and atthe other end providing communication between said chambers and the endof said bearing away from said valve element; and means including anannular groove around the housing of said bearing and an aperturethrough said valve body for injecting lubricant into said valve body anddistributing said lubricant to said lubricant chambers.

2. A ball-type plug valve of the character set forth in claim 1, andincluding: a valve seat positioned within said flow passage on each sideof said ball-type valve element, each said valve seat having an annularnarrow projecting seat facing said valve element adapted to contact saidvalve element around said bore in said valve element to effect a fluidseal between said seat and said valve element around said bore in saidvalve element, the surfaces of said seat facing away from said valveelement and exposed to the pressure within said flow passage beinggreater in area by a predetermined relatively small amount than the areaof said annular projecting seat surface engaging said valve element andexposed to the pressure within said flow passage whereby the pressurewithin said passage urges said valve seat towards said valve elementwith a force suflicient to maintain said projecting seat surface in lowtorque seating engagement with said valve element; a spring around eachof said valve seats engaged between said seat and said valv body biasingsaid seat toward said valve element and enabling said seat to beretracted from said valve element a distance sumcient to enable saidvalve element to be removed from and introduced into said valve bodythrough said bore.

3. A plug valve in accordance with claim 1 wherein the cross-sectionalarea of the pressure surface of said seat means exceeds the area of theprojecting seat face of the seat means contacting the valve means by anamount of about five percent.

4. A plug valve in accordance with claim 2 wherein the cross-sectionalarea of the pressure area of said valve seat means exceeds the area ofthe projecting seat face of the seat means which contacts the valvemeans by an amount ranging from about one to about ten percent.

5. A ball-type plug valve in accordance with claim 2 wherein saidpressure area surface on said seat means facing away from said valvemeans is greater in area than said conical projecting seat surface by anamount of about five percent.

6. A ball-type plug valve comprising in combination; a valve bodyprovided with a fluid flow passage extending therethrough and a boreextending therethrough intersecting said flow passage and orientedsubstantially transverse to said flow passage; a ball-type valve elementmovably positioned within said fluid flow passage, said valve elementhaving a bore therethrough to cooperate with said fluid flow passage tocontrol fluid flow through said valve; a trunnion extending fromopposite sides of said valve element into said bore to support saidvalve element in said flow passage, a roller bearing positioned aroundeach of said trunnions within said bore on either side of said valveelement to rotatably support said trunnions within said bore; a bearinghousing around and supporting each of said roller bearings within saidbore, said bearing housing being provided with a plurality ofcylindrical lubricant chambers oriented longitudinally along the lengthof said bearing housing and having openings extending through either endof the said bearing housing to subject the inward ends of each of saidlubricant chambers to the pressure within said fluid flow passage insaid valve body and to effect fluid communication with the outward endsof said chambers and the outward end of said roller bearing; acapillaried matrix material within each said lubricant chamber tominimize the movement of lubricant through said chambers; said bearinghousings and said valve body being provided with a channel and a port,respectively, to allow injection of lubricant into said lubricantchambers from outside of said valve body; a bearing retainer around eachof said trunnions outward of each of said roller bearings to retain saidroller bearings in position within said valve body on said trunnions; alow friction type internal seal assembly having a fluid material capableof plastic flow confined therein positioned around each trunnion withinsaid bearing retaining elements to effect a fluid seal around each ofsaid trunnions outwardly of said roller bearings; an external fluid sealaround each said bearing retaining element forming a seal with said borein said valve body; and a member formed on the outer end of at least oneof said trunnions for rotating said trunnions and said valve elementwithin said valve body.

7. A ball-type plug valve which comprises: a valve I body provided witha flow passage extending therethrough forming an inlet and an outlet forsaid valve, said flow passage having formed therein an enlarged portionin both said inlet portion and said outlet portion providing an inwardlyfacing shoulder in each of said portions and an internal annular grooveformed at opposite ends of each of said portions to receive fluid sealelements, said body being further provided with a bore extendingtherethrough substantially transverse to and intersecting said flowpassage, the portion of said bore on one side of said flow passage beingof reduced diameter at the outward end thereof forming therein aninwardly facing shoulder, the portion of said bore on the other side ofsaid flow passage being substantially uniform in diameter, said borehaving an internal annular groove toward the inward end of each of saidportions to receive a locking ring; a spherical shaped valve elementrotatably positioned within said flow passage, said valve element havinga bore therethrough adapted to cooperate with said flow passage and whenin alignment with said passage to allow fluid flow through said passageand when positioned transverse to said passage to prevent fluid flowthrough said channel; a trunnion on each side of said valve element,each of said trunnions having an inner portion, a middle portion oflesser diameter than said inner portion, and an outer portion adapted tobe engaged by a valve actuating tool, said trunnions each beingpositioned in one of said bore portions on opposite sides of said flowchannel; a roller bearing ositioned on each of said inner portions ofsaid trunnions within each of said portions of said bore for rotatablysupporting said trunnions and said valve element within said flowchannel; a locking ring positioned at the inward end of each boreportion to limit the inward movement of each bearing; a bearing housingaround each of said roller bearings in each of the portions of saidbore. said bearing housing having formed therein a plurality oflubricant chambers radially positioned around said housing and orientedlongitudinally along the length of said housing, said chambers havingfluid apertures opening through opposite ends thereof and containingtherein a capillaried matrix material; said bearing housing having anexternal channel to facilitate distribution of lubricant around and intosaid bearing housing; a screw having an aperture therethrough engaged inthe outward end of each of said lubricant chambers; said valve bodyhaving openings extending into said flow channels around said hearinghousing for introducing lubricant into said valve body; a plug elementengageable in each of said openings leading into said valve body; a sealhousing around each middle portion of each trunnion in engagement withthe outward end of the bearing on said inner portion of said trunnion;an outer ring seal around each seal housing to form a seal between theouter surface of each housing and the inner surface of each portion ofthe bore; an inner seal within each seal housing near the outward endthereof adapted to prevent inward fluid flow from without said valvebody along the intermediate portion of each trunnion; a low friction,high pressure, inner seal within each seal housing outward from the endof each bearing; an internally threaded nut engaged within said borerestraining one of said seal housing within one portion of said borewhile the other of said seal housings is engaged on the other side ofsaid valve body with the internal shoulder within the other portion ofsaid bore; a hollow, cylindrical shaped, valve seat positioned in eachof the inlet and outlet portions of said flow passage on opposite sidesof said valve element; each of said 'valve seats having an outwardlyextending shoulder around the inward end thereof. and a seat face ofarcuate annular shape projecting from each of said valve seats tocontact said valve element around the bore in said element to controlfluid flow through said flow passage and said bore, each said projectmgvalve seat face also having means providing a pressure area surfacefacing away from said valve element and exposed to pressure in saidpassage of said body whereby said arcuate seat face is biased intoseating engagement with said valve element by said pressure acting onsaid area, said pressure surface being larger in area than said area ofsaid seat face whereby pressure within said flow passage urges each ofsaid valve seats toward said valve element with a low torque force tomaintain the seat face in engagement with said valve element and permitlow torque movement of said valve element relative to said seat face; aspring around each of said valve seats restrained between said shoulderaround the outside of said seat and the inwardly facing internalshoulder within the body in each portion of said flow channel to biassaid seat toward said valve element; seal elements around each said seatwithin the slot provided in each portion of said flow channel to preventfluid flow within said channel along the external surfaces of said seat;means engaged through said valve body to contact the inward end of eachsaid seat for locking each seat in a retracted position to allow saidvalve element to be withdrawn from said valve body through said bore;and the shoulders around each said valve seat and within each portion ofsaid flow channel bemg a sufficient distance apart and said springsaround each of said seats being sufficiently resilient to enable eachsaid seat to be retracted from said valve element a distance suflicientto permit installation and removal of said valve element through saidbore.

8. A ball-type plug valve in accordance with claim 7 wherein the area ofsaid pressure area surface exceeds the area of said projecting seat faceby an amount which is in the range of about one to about ten percent inexcess of the area of said arcuate annular seat face on said valve seat.

10. A ball-type plug valve which comprises: a valve body having a flowpassage extending therethrough and a bore extending into said valve bodyintersecting said flow passage; a ball-type valve element rotatablypositioned within said flow passage and having a port cooperating withsaid flow passage for controlling fluid flow through said valve; atrunnion on said valve element positioned within said bore forsupporting said valve element within said flow passage; seat meanspositioned within said flow passage to function in cooperation with saidvalve element for controlling flow through said flow passage, said seatmeans being movable away from said valve element; means for biasing saidseat means toward said valve element and enabling said seat means to beretracted from said valve element to enable said valve element to enablesaid valve element to be removed from and inserted into said valve bodythrough said bore; roller bearing means positioned within said bore inengagement with said trunnion for supporting said trunnion and enablingrotation thereof; lubricant chamber means positioned around saidbearing, said lubricant chamber means including communication channels,at one end of said lubricant chamber means exposing said means to thepressure within said flow passage and at the other end of said lubricantchamber means opening to the outward end of said bearing means; pressureseal means on said trunnion outwardly of said bearing means and saidlubricant chamber means; at least one chamber communicating with saidbearing means and oriented with the longitudinal axis of said chamber insubstantially the same direction as the axis of said trunnion; saidchamber containing capillaried matrix material to minimize the movementtherethrough of an oil-water interface; said chamber having an openingat one end subjecting said chamber to the pressure within said flowpassage and at the other end providing communication between saidchamber and the end of said bearing away from said valve element; andmeans for injecting lubricant into said valve body and conducting saidlubricant to said lubricant chamber.

11. A ball-type plug valve comprising in combination: a valve bodyprovided with a fluid flow passage extending therethrough and a boreextending therethrough intersecting said flow passage and orientedsubstantially transverse to said flow passage; a ball-type vdlve elementm'ovably positioned within said fluid flow passage, said valve elementhaving a bore therethrough to cooperate with said fluid flow passage tocontrol fluid flow through said valve; trunnions extending from oppositesides of said valve element into said bore to support said valve elementin said flow passage; a roller bearing positioned around each of saidtrunnions within said bore on either side of said valve element torotatably support said trunnions within said bore; a bearing housingaround and supporting each of said roller bearings within said bore,said bearing housings being each provided with at least one lubricantchamber oriented longitudinally along the length of said bearing housingand having openings extending through either end of the said bearinghousing to subject the in ward end of said lubricant chamber to thepressure within said fluid flow passage in said valve body and to efiectfluid communication with the outward ends of said chamber and theoutward end of said roller bearing; a capillaried matrix material withinsaid lubricant chamber to minimize the movement of lubricant throughsaid chamber, means to allow injection of lubricant into said lubricantchamber from outside of said valve body; a bearing retainer around eachof said trunnions outward of each of said roller bearings to retam sazdroller bearings in POSI- tion within said valve body on said trunnions;a low friction type internal seal assembly having a fluid materialcapable of plastic flow confined therein positioned around 1 eachtrunnion within said bearing retaining elements to efiect a fluid sealaround each of said trunnions outwardly of said roller bearings; anexternal fluid seal around each said bearing retaining element forming aseal with said bore in said valve body; and a member formed on the outerend of at least one of said trunnions for rotating said trunnions andsaid valve element within said valve body.

References Cited The following references, cited by the Examiner, are

of record in the patented file of this patent or the original patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,569,252 1/1926 Barnes 251-335X 2,235,307 3/1941Atkinson 25l355 2,982,296 5/1961 Ohls 137-24612 3,037,738 6/1962 Jackson25l174X 3,114,386 12/1963 Dumm 137316 3,122,352 2/1964 Anderson 25l355X3,134,396 5/1964 Bredtschneider 25l174X 3,208,470 9/1965 Lidgard 25l3l5X3,219,055 11/1965 Dumm 25l174X 2,191,232 2/1940 Heinen 251-174 2,639,8835/1953 Smith 251170 2,799,470 7/1957 Margrave 251-172 2,866,213 12/1958McArthur 25ll72X 3,132,837 5/1964 Britton 251172 3,151,837 10/1964Bentley-Leek 25l174X 3,171,429 3/1965 Sturmer 25l163X 3,209,778 10/1965Flohr 25l170X 3,214,131 10/1965 Boldt 25l170 FOREIGN PATENTS 655,0787/1951 Great Britain 25l172 1,102,510 3/1961 Germany 251-171 CLARENCE R.GORDON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. XJR.

223 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Dated g.

Patent No. Re 22.998

Inventor(s) Norman F. Brown It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Column 5 line 18, for "in" read --is- Column 6, line 41 after "prevent"insert -invasion by external fluids such as sea water. The right handseal housing 90a is provided with identical seals-- Column 7, line 73,for "assmebly" read -assemb1y- Column 12, line 21, for "housing" readhousings-- Signed and sealed this 30th day of March 1 971 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. Attesting Officer WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.Commissioner of Patents

